Odemwingie puts Nigeria nightmare behind him

17 Oct 2011 10:05:37

Nigeria star Peter Odemwingie bounced back from an Africa Cup of Nations nightmare to come on a substitute and grab the goal that sealed an English Premier League triumph for West Bromwich at the weekend.

The midfielder with a fondness for goals missed several chances and was booed off the field when replaced as the Super Eagles failed to make the African cut for the first time since 1986 after conceding a late equaliser against Guinea.

There were plenty of African goals around Europe with two Cameroonians having special cause for celebration -- Vincent Aboubakar scored for the first time in the French Ligue 1 and Dorge Kouemaha for the first time in the German Bundesliga.

ENGLAND

PETER ODEMWINGIE (West Brom)

The Nigerian scored his second goal of the season to help his side to a 2-0 victory over local rivals Wolves at the Hawthorns. Odemwingie was dropped to the substitutes' bench by boss Roy Hodgson but underlined his value with a fine 75th-minute finish from the edge of the area just three minutes after coming on.

DEMBA BA (Newcastle)

The Senegal forward recorded his fifth goal in three games as Newcastle fought back twice to earn a 2-2 draw against Tottenham at St James' Park. Ba turned in a Jonas Gutierrez cross from close range in the 48th minute and Shola Ameobi came off the bench to grab another equaliser and preserve Newcastle's unbeaten start to the season.

CHRISTOPHER SAMBA (Blackburn)

The Congo Brazzaville defender scored the equaliser as struggling Rovers snatched a 1-1 draw at QPR. Steve Kean's bottom-of-the-table side trailed to Heidar Helguson's 16th-minute strike but Samba hit back with his first goal of the season eight minutes later as he headed home a Jason Lowe corner.

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (Tottenham)

The Togo striker won a first-half penalty converted by Rafael van der Vaart as Spurs were held at Newcastle. Adebayor's rampaging 40th-minute run was ended by Steven Taylor's trip and Van der Vaart slotted home.

The Ivory Coast forward played a key role in the quickest Premier League goal of the season as he set up Robin van Persie's opener after 29 seconds. Gervinho crossed for Van Persie to slot home Arsenal's fastest Premier League goal and the Gunners eventually took the points thanks to Van Persie's late second goal.

FRANCE

SOULEYMANE CAMARA (Montpellier)

Senegalese attacker Camara confirmed his super-sub reputation with a goal and an assist in his side's topsy-turvy 5-3 defeat of promoted Dijon. After coming off the bench with Montpellier leading 3-2, Camara punished a rash charge from visiting goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet by sweeping the ball into an empty net from 25 yards. His back-heel then set up team-mate Olivier Giroud for his hat-trick goal in the 82nd minute. Camara has scored four goals in the league this season -- all as a substitute.

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Saint-Etienne)

Gabonese forward Aubameyang, on loan from AC Milan, made one goal and scored another as Saint-Etienne won 2-1 at Evian to end a seven-match winless run. Aubameyang's low cross teed up Laurent Batlles for the opening goal in the first minute of the second half and he claimed what proved to be the winner five minutes later with a rasping drive into the roof of the net.

VINCENT ABOUBAKAR (Valenciennes)

Cameroon international striker Aboubakar, 19, scored his first Ligue 1 goals as Valenciennes defeated Sochaux 3-0 to haul themselves out of the relegation zone. The teenager broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time, slamming home with his left foot after a neat turn on the edge of the box, and completed the scoring with a right-foot effort in the 75th minute.

GERMANY

PAPISS CISSE (Freiburg)

The Senegalese striker took his Bundesliga goal tally to seven but his team slumped to a 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Hamburg. Cisse found the net in the 47th minute but then wasted the opportunity to salvage a point for his team when he missed an 81st-minute penalty.

DORGE KOUEMAHA (Kaiserslautern)

Cameroon star Kouemaha was the man of the moment in the 2-1 win at Schalke. He won the penalty which gave his side a 30th-minute lead and then scored the winner eight minutes from time, his first goal in the Bundesliga since joining the club from Bruges in Belgium.

ITALY

SULLEY MUNTARI (Inter Milan)

The Ghana midfielder made a rare start for the 2010 Champions League winners but couldn't prevent them losing 2-1 at Catania. Muntari, in truth, did little to shine during a game in which Inter never controlled midfield. The Ghanaian did tee up Esteban Cambiasso for an injury-time chance to equalise but the Argentine dallied and the opportunity went begging.

ABDERRAZAK JADID (Parma)

The Moroccan midfielder produced an impressive performance as his team earnt a shock 2-1 win at Napoli. Faced with the powerful Gokhan Inler, he never allowed himself to be overawed and ensured that the Swiss international had a quiet game. Following a career in the Italian lower leagues, this was a solid way to demonstrate his ability to operate at this level.

SPAIN

ROMARIC (Espanyol)

The Ivory Coast international scored the only goal for Espanyol on 55 minutes away to Rayo Vallecano. It was Espanyol's first win on their travels since January and lifted the Barcelona club into the top half of the league.

FREDERIC KANOUTE (Sevilla)

Former African Footballer of the Year Kanoute completed 90 minutes and played a key role for Sevilla in their 2-1 victory against Sporting Gijon that moves the Andalusian side into fourth position in La Liga.

AROUNA KONE (Levante)

The Ivorian scored the third goal in Levante's 3-0 win over Malaga that lifted the unfancied side to joint first position on La Liga, level on 17 points with Barcelona and a point ahead of Real Madrid.